Summary
The avocado is considered to be a fruit. Avocados are native to Central and South America. Today the major producers are the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. One cup of avocado contains 235 calories. Avocado is a good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. The medicinal part of the avocado is the leaves and the fruit, including the seed. It is usually turned into avocado oil, which is used for beauty and skin care. Avocado is high in monounsaturated fat.
Description
Medicinal Parts
The medicinal parts are the dried leaves, the fresh leaves, the whole fruit, including the seed and the oil extracted from the leaves.
Flower and Fruit
The flowers are in compact or loose racemes. They are 5 to 8.2 mm long and greenish. The inner and outer perianth circles are 4 to 6 mm long and elliptical to oval-elliptical. The anthers are 3.5 mm long, and the filaments are 2.3 mm. The ovary is oval or pear-shaped and downy. It develops into a drupe, which is green and fleshy and grows up to 18 cm long. The drupe is smooth with thick oily flesh and a very large seed.
Leaves, Stem, and Root
The avocado is a tree up to 40 m in height and with a trunk 60 cm in diameter. The leaves are 6 to 30 cm long and 3.5 to 19 cm wide. They are narrow to broadly elliptical. The leaf surface is sticky, while the lower surface is downy.
Habitat
The plant originated in central and southern South America and is cultivated in all tropical and subtropical regions today.
Production
Avocado oil comes from the fruit of Persea americana. Avocado oil is recovered from the pericarp of Persea americana and refined if necessary.
Actions & Pharmacology
Compounds
Fatty oil: chief fatty acids oleic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, palmitoleic acid (tocopherols, vitamin E)
Effects
Avocado oil is an emollient, which improves rough ichtyotic skin.
Indications & Usage
Avocado is a main ingredient in lines of “natural” cosmetics.
Precautions & Adverse Reactions
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages.
Dosage
Mode of Administration
As an active or inactive ingredient in various preparations (bath oils, ointments, etc.).
Storage
Oils from different batches should not be mixed. The drug should be stored in a sealed container away from light and moisture.
